Bishkek, Dec. 8, 2025 /Kabar/. Two meetings were held outside of Bishkek on December 4-5: one of the interdepartmental working group and the other of the project's steering committee. The meetings provided an effective platform for discussing key biosafety objectives under the Cartagena Protocol to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity and coordinating further steps for the project "Implementation of the National Biosafety Framework in the Kyrgyz Republic in Accordance with the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety."
According to the Ministry of Natural Resources, the meeting brought together representatives of key government agencies, including the presidential administration, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Economy and Commerce, the Ministry of Water Resources, Agriculture and Processing Industry, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the Customs Service, Kyrgyzstandard, and the Academy of Biotechnology of the National Academy of Sciences of the Kyrgyz Republic.
"Significant work has been accomplished during the project's implementation. Today, we are summing up the results of 2025 and determining next steps for 2026. "Despite the complexity of the tasks, the project working group successfully completed the activities," noted Almaz Musaev, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources, Ecology, and Technical Supervision of the Kyrgyz Republic.
He emphasized that the project helps eliminate key barriers in the field of biosafety—the lack of a coordinated regulatory framework, insufficient human resources, and limited access to information on the potential consequences of GMO use.
According to him, the project contributes to strengthening the national biosafety system, improving interagency coordination, creating the necessary administrative mechanisms, including GMO detection laboratories, and enhancing the competencies of specialists. He placed particular emphasis on the need to complete the development of regulatory documents ensuring the implementation of the Law "On Biological Safety in the Kyrgyz Republic."
Kuban Matraimov, Director of the RECCA in Kyrgyzstan, presented detailed information on the project's completed work.
Key results include:
- Regular meetings of the Interagency Working Group and the Project Steering Committee;
- In collaboration with KyrgyzstanDart, methodological guidelines for risk assessment, identification, and labeling of GMOs/Non GMOs were developed;
- support was provided to the Ministry of National Economy and Public Health in developing a draft Regulation on the functions of authorized government agencies and organizations in the field of biosafety and GMO handling;
- the technical capacity of laboratories and specialists was strengthened;
- a national biosafety website was created.
This work contributes to the consistent development of a national biosafety framework, the development of effective interagency coordination, and the improvement of legal and technical support in this area.
Caroline Starr, FAO project coordinator, and Juan López Villar, international GMO expert, joined the online meeting. They presented their recommendations for optimizing measures and the results of a review of government agency interactions in regulating GMOs in the Kyrgyz Republic.
During the discussions, special attention was paid to the development and updating of regulatory legal acts governing the circulation of GMOs in the country. This work is creating a modern, coordinated, and transparent biosafety system, strengthening interagency cooperation, and facilitating Kyrgyzstan's fulfillment of its international obligations.
Following the meeting, the participants approved the project's key activities for 2026. Next year, the project aims to complete the development and approval of regulatory legal acts ensuring the implementation of the Cartagena Protocol, as well as to support the Ministry of Natural Resources, Ecology, and Technical Supervision in preparing bylaws implementing the Law "On Biosafety in the Kyrgyz Republic."
Further development and improvement of the national biosafety website is also planned, which will become a key platform for the exchange of scientific, technical, and legal information on GMOs and non GMOs.
The decisions made and the approved action plan for 2026 confirm Kyrgyzstan's commitment to strengthening its national biosafety framework and fulfilling its international obligations in this area.